Sherry Weddell's Forming Intentional Disciples Study Guide Paperback – March 28, 2014

This is the companion book to  Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus . In a talk in a local parish, Sherry Weddell recommended that we think about reading this in a series group sessions. The study guide is suitable for small groups to do just that. Study groups can be arranged in a variety of ways. This is something quite popular. For instance, anyone who has led or participated in such a group for something like  The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation 2.0  with Jeff Cavins or any other of his other courses like  The Great Adventure Matthew DVDs  or  James Pearls for Wise Living  would find it easy to lead such a group.To say something about the actual book itself, I'll tie it in this way. In  Go Forth with Hearts on Fire: A Pastoral Letter on the New Evangelization , Bishop Paul S. Loverde, of the Diocese of Arlington speaks about "lighting" this fire so necessary for the Evangelization he is promoting and then tending to it. He recommends three age-old practices of the Church that provide ongoing renewal: The Eucharist, Confession, and Daily Prayer. In the section preceding this is a quote that he has taken from this book, imbedded between a short description of "disciple" and the always encouraging words of Pope Francis.What a great commentary of this book:* "Disciple" comes from the Latin verb that means "to learn." The Lord Jesus is continually teaching us as He draws us closer to Him. After our initial encounter with Christ, a lifelong journey with Him awaits. In ever more beautiful and compelling ways, we learn to become intentional disciples, that is, disciples who consciously intend to learn from the Teacher and to follow the Beloved.* In "Forming Intentional Disciples," Sherry Weddell writes, "Intentional discipleship is not accidental or merely cultural. It is not just a matter of 'following the rules' ... But discipleship begins when 'persons at last have the occasion to hear the kerygma, renew their own baptism, consciously choose Christ as their own personal Lord and Savior, and commit themselves actively in the life of their Church.'"* Without this intentionality, our faith weakens, our desire to learn from Him diminishes, and our initial love for Christ wanes and fades. Without truth, our faith is, in the words of Pope Francis, "reduced to a lofty sentiment which brings consolation and cheer, yet remains prey to the vagaries of our spirit and the changing seasons, incapable of sustaining a steady journey through life ... If love is not tied to truth, it falls prey to fickle emotions and cannot stand the test of time." In our careers and professional undertakings, we recognize the need to continually grow and develop. All the more so, as evangelists on a mission, we need the ongoing renewal that the following three practices offer to us in our life of faith.

I liked the excellent way she ties personal conversion to Jesus and his way, to the remedy our Church needs for the falling away of membership, partIcularly persons who did not experience a relationship with him in the Church. Even more she gives a how-to for evangelization, that complements what Pope Francis said in "The Joy of the Gospel"

I am dumbfounded by this book. All Church leadership, from bishops to parish secretary, needs to read this book.

Great overview of the serious problem we face today in evangelizing a new generation and older generations. The present lack of understanding of the basics of our Catholic Christian faith is sobering and reveals the very serious challenge we face! The five thresholds of intentional discipleship offers a helpful way of conceptualizing the Holy Spirit led process of conversion to full intentional discipleship. What is lacking in this presentation -- and the subject for yet another book-- is how postmodernism itself is at the root of this problem and how postmodernism is impacting these faith trends in young adults. We need to identity the specific (and often unchallenged) postmodernist's assumptions that are at the root of these trends. Our current media and dominant secular culture has saturated our young people's worlds with postmodernist ideas for the last 20 + years and this trend of postmodernism is only accelerating. Young adults have been uncritically absorbing these beliefs along with their parents who are oblivious to their impact on their faith formation and conversion. No wonder we are not equipped to intelligently and critically respond to these postmodernist beliefs? No wonder it is impacting the passing on of our faith! We do not even yet acknowledge their existence! We need specific assessment tools to systematically address the impact of postmodernism and concrete strategies for responding creatively to preaching the Good News. This book demonstrates how we can begin to respond to these challenges.

Such an excellent analysis of the apathy in the Church today and some very effective remedies for it. If you care even a little bit about evangelization you need to read this book!

Understanding the data is a beginning - seeing intentional disciples in ALL faiths is a giant leap that so far no faith is ready to take. Jesus' prayer that we all be one as he and the father are one...isn't happening. Sherry is working on it in her unique way.

This might be the best book on building an authentic Catholic parish that I have ever read. It will give all of us in ministry a reality check and challenge us to confront "the pink elephant" that has created the prospective culture of denial since Varican IIEveryone training in ministry would benefit from reading this book!

The process of explanations and how this book teaches you to grow within a church community and then it reflects the Gospel to the world.

The study guide is just 15 pages long, it retails for $2.75 in the States. Therefore the price of over £10 was not justified in my opinion. The guide is just that, nothing remarkable, and certainly not worth the mark up.